Autumn

a to be married in. But it all had to be done within the week, towels, sheets, pillow-cases, table-cloths, and aprons.

; for she thought that she knew a thing or two, and could see what was directly in front of her nose. "I'm nobody's fool," she said, as she guided the cloth, snapped the thread, and ro

shall f

before

end in rig

neath His

aga

n Sion's Go

's rock s

immovable

mighty ha

s-maker comfortable in the spare room, she went down to the kitchen in search of Anna. But Anna was in the barn with Tabitha, the cat, whose new-born kittens filled her with glee. Mrs. Barly stood in the middle of the kitchen, as idle as her pots, and looked out through the window at the brown and yellow fields. When s

e sewing machine, and the alleluias of the dr

nging gate between the south field and the road. But all at once he felt like saying: "I don't want a gate at all;

your barn. But I suppose you have your own reasons for doing it. A good year for cows, what with t

me to him," s

, "he's beyond me, Mr.

man. But I ha

d Mr. Barly. "They're a

ch a young girl t

ble," said

me, a bit of trouble is good for us a

ily. "I don't know," he said;

nd so would I be, as crotchety as you like, if

t with other people doing as they please." And taking leave of Mr. Tomkins, he went home, think

"Ay," muttered Mr. Barly, "go on-sing. You've learned that much, anyway. I may as well sing, myself, for all the good I've

blind kittens. "You see, Tabby," she said, "people still sing. A lot of them learned to sing in the war,

"I was going to find all sorts

to rest. But even to climb the stairs made her catch her breath. Now, before breakfast of a morning, she was deathly sick; afterwards she was tired, and ready to cry over anythi

ed up, and caught him by the leg. He was in for it. But like a fly in a web, he could not beli

s Frye and Anna Barly were to be ma

id as they were bid. Now they know that love is a trap to catch the

hat they'd no right to

Grumble. And love is not all one piece. We make it so, because we are timid and indolent. We like to think that one rule fi

," said Mr

d man, insulted by everything. Now he has been insulted by

comfortably, "there's the bab

Barly. I am going to say to him, 'Let me have Anna's baby, and

er . . . so that's it . . . I can tell you this: the day that baby comes into

herself, "that's what

ck

ble," said

to say," sai

left for me to do in the world any more. I am sure you would be pleas

out of my wits. The new world . . . you mean Sodom and

to build a new world. It will be happier than ours. It will be a world of love, and cand

At least, I won't live to see much o

Jeminy, losing his temper, "finer than

good enough for me,"

ossil," sai

rayer. "Lord," she prayed, "don't let m

t in a rage. Mrs. Grumble, left alone, looked after him with flashing eyes a

s not in the way she looked for, as she sat rockin